Untold Secret For My Little Brother
by Summer Memory
Summary: Luffy barely understood what was happening, but then, why was he crying? AcexLuffy brotherly fic.Beta-ed.
1. Secret

Disclaimer : Oda-sensei owns One Piece

Summary : He barely understood what was happening, but then, why was he crying? AceXLuffy brotherly fic.

A.N: Thank you so much for Saiyan Angie for beta-ing this story!! My first time to write a fic with Ace in it, and if he went OOC, please let me know!

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**UNTOLD SECRETS FOR MY LITTLE BROTHER**

Ace walked slowly to his one-story house, carrying 7-years old Luffy on his back. A bloody scratch was visible on his little brother's left forehead. The older boy sighed heavily, if Luffy could just ignore the village kids' mocks about their parents, he wouldn't ended up fighting and getting injured here and there.

The grip on his throat tightened, and there came a sleepy whimper on his ear, "Ace?"

He turned to Luffy, "Sssh…go back to sleep."

Luffy nodded and buried his face on his brother's warm back, humming softly. Ace merely sighed again, "Luffy, you shouldn't have—"

The smaller boy glared and cut his words abruptly, "But they said that our parents didn't love us so they left years ago, and…and they said bad things about you, too!"

Ace stopped for a moment and titled his head back, smiling, "No, it's okay, Luffy. I'm not mad at you. Just… stop making me worry all time, ok?"

The smaller boy nodded weakly as Ace continued to walk them home. "Ace?" Luffy called, earning a soft 'hmm?' for an answer.

"You won't leave me too, will you? You won't leave me like Mom and Dad did, will you?"

Ace stopped and turned his head slightly, his eyes met a pair of huge obsidian eyes that were exactly the same as his, "No, I won't leave you. Not until you're big enough."

"I don't want you to leave me, Ace! I don't wanna be left alone! Ever!"

"You'll never be alone, Luffy. There's always Makino and The Mayor, and you'll make a lot of friends!" Ace smiled widely, reassuring his pouting little brother.

"But—"

"You want to be a Pirate King, right? Eventually, either you or I will have to leave this place one day."

Luffy fell silent at the mention of 'Pirate King' and buried his face deeper into his brother's back, "But I'll never forget Ace, because Ace is my most favorite person in the world!"

Ace, struggling to loosen the tight grip on his throat, grinned widely, "I know!"

xxooxx

Ace frowned as the knocks on the door grew louder, "Hai, hai, coming!" he yelled with annoyance and ran to open it. He saw Shanks smiled widely, carrying Luffy on his back, "Hi, Ace!"

"Ah, hi!" he muttered softly and let Shanks entered his house. "Um, sorry you had to carry him back." He bowed politely and reached out his hands to take his brother.

The red haired pirates shook his head, "No, don't be. It's okay, Luffy's not that heavy. He just wouldn't go home until I finished my stories. Where's his room, anyway?"

"We share the same room." Ace led the older man farther into the house, entering a room with a double-sized bed in the middle.

Shanks laughed as he put the small bundle onto the bed, "What, he is still afraid to sleep alone? Does he always ask you to come along if he needs to pee, too?"

"He does, "Ace merely shrugged, pulling the covers up to the boy's chin, "besides, I don't mind."

Shanks laughed hard and ruffled the sleeping boy's black locks affectionately, "How cute, despite how hyperactive he is during the day."

Ace grinned widely, "Yeah, and sometimes it's hard to keep an eye on him—" he trailed off and coughed harshly. He clapped both his hands over his mouth and Shanks' eyes widened at the crimson liquid began trailing down Ace's fingers.

"Kid, you…" he hurried to fetch the swaying boy, but Ace quickly steadied himself and smiled, wiping the blood on the corner of his lips with his thumb.

Ace put his index finger on his lips, and smiled weakly at the older man.

'_Keep it a secret…'_

xxooxx

Ace curled up into his brother's side as he heard the heavy thumps of Shanks' boots slowly fade. After hearing the door close, he pulled the covers up to his torso, smiling softly at the boy's small figure beside him. He reached out a hand to rub the scar under Luffy's left eye.

_Stupid little brother and his stupid ideas._

Ace chuckled softly, but his smile faded quickly. How would Luffy live if he had to leave? Would he be okay? Could he feed himself? No, he had Makino, and The Mayor for that matter. Besides, Luffy was a strong boy, albeit dumb. He could take care of himself.

He should have nothing to worry about, then.

Ace gulped silently, trying to force back his tears and failing miserably. He coughed softly and his chest heaved in pain. He raked the boy's black bangs gently as tears freely running down his cheeks. He couldn't leave him…

He just didn't want to.

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A.N : hopefully the next chapter would come pretty soon, --and the more reviews I get, the faster I will write! XD  
THANK YOU FOR READING!


	2. Father

Hi, everyone! Sorry for the long wait. Things haven't been easy these days sighs But it's fine, I'll try not to abandon any of my stories.  
Thank you for those who have reviewed! You guys don't have any idea how reviews encourage me to write for real. Thank you so much XDD  
Also, my thanks for TheDoublemintTwins11 for beta-ing this fic!

So, please enjoy! And please don't forget to review!

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**Untold Secret For My Little Brother**

Chapter 2 : Father

Ace tapped his foot impatiently on the floor. His eyes shifted to the closed door before him for perhaps the hundredth time in less than two hours. Sitting next to him was the mayor, who sat with his arms crossed in front of his chest whilst keeping his eyes fixed on the same door. Ace threw a quick, nervous glance at him, sighed, and looked back at the oh-so-interesting door.

Ace could recall that two hours ago Makino-san called him from the bar—

A feminine scream erupted inside the room, almost making him jump in shock and fear. How much longer would this last?

He couldn't wait any longer to see his new little brother…or sister. Honestly, he had no idea.

After another two-and-a-half hours—that seemed like a decade to Ace—the door swung open. Driven by instinct, the raven-haired boy hopped up from his seat and ran inside—only to collide with a pair of strong legs. He yelped in shock as he was thrown back.

"Watch your step, brat!" shouted a heavy voice that Ace knew too well.

Still rubbing his sore ass, Ace scrambled back to his feet. "Move it, Jii-san! I want to see him!" He paused for a second, before quickly adding "or her! Whatever!"

Garp watched his grandson shift from one foot to another, obviously both curious and excited about the new member of the D family. He snickered and picked the boy up and tucked him under his arm. He was too happy to care when Ace attempted to punch him.

"It's a boy."

xxx

_'__He's so small'_ was Ace's first thought upon seeing the tiny bundle wrapped in blue fluffy blanket. The newly-born baby was sleeping peacefully, his thin eyebrows twitching every now and then. Ace reached out to brush a stray strand of hair that was out of place, and touched the chubby cheek. Cold.

"What's his name, Okaa-san?" Ace leaned back to see a beautiful middle-aged woman still lying weakly on the bed.

She smiled at her clever son, making her even more beautiful, even in her weakened state. "You decide, Ace."

"Eeh?" Ace pointed at himself, eyes wide, "Well, uh…"

"Luffy." A gruff voice cut in abruptly and several heads in the room jerked to see who was talking. Garp raised his eyebrow as the group shot him curious looks; a den-den mushi was in his hands.

"His name is Monkey D. Luffy." the man spoke again, followed by a sound of hanging up.

Garp snorted and turned his head just enough to see his first grandson sending a deadly and hatred-filled glare to the den-den mushi in his hands, which wasn't responding at all.

The marine couldn't help smiling absently, feeling that he didn't need to tell everyone in the room who was calling.

"Otou-san…" Ace hissed.

xxx

"Jerk." Ace's mutter was quickly carried away by the sound of wind blowing and the heavy rain pounding the earth. He was soaked to the bone, but had done nothing to get out of the rain.

Drops of water from his hair streaked down his face, but he could tell it was mixed with tears that were flowing from his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to deny it. _'I've got to be strong.'_

He watched as people quickly walked away—to avoid the rain—some stopping to give their condolences, while others left without a glance.

_'__It's easy to talk'_ Ace thought bitterly, his white-knuckled grips on the wooden frame of the picture of his mother tightened. Easy to express false-sympathy. Never knowing what those word truly meant.

He didn't need pity.

Deciding that wiping his tears with his already soaked sleeves wasn't really helping, he gave up trying and let the hot tears roll down his cheeks. Just this once, he would allow himself to cry.

Turning his head, he smiled—albeit sadly—as he watched his three-months old little brother safe in Garp's arms.

He would stand strong. For Luffy's sake.

He jerked his head back as a villager patted his shoulders softly and muttered something he didn't quite catch, but it still served to bring him back to reality. Now, what mattered was how they would live after this. He was sure he wouldn't want to live with that marine-crazed Grandpa. There was always their dad, but…

The rain was starting to abate, and Ace looked back at the clouded sky, smiling bitterly.

There was no way they would live with a father who didn't even bother coming to their mother's funeral.

xxx

"WHEEEE!" A loud-immature-high-pitched-ear-scratching sound made its way to Ace's ears and succeeded in jerking the black haired boy awake. Blinking sleepily at the plate before him—which now had a face-shaped indent on it—he gladly accepted a napkin Ben offered to him.

"You okay?" The Red Hair's first mate asked, concern written all over his face.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Ace mopped his face roughly with the napkin. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Luffy riding on Shank's shoulder as he ran around the bar. If it wasn't for his narcolepsy, then there was no way he could stay asleep in such commotion.

"You mumble in your sleep." Ben replied, taking over the napkin to brush a piece of tomato sticking above Ace's eyebrow then dropped it on the opposite side of the table.

Ace raised his eyes unbelievingly. "I do?" he muttered, but didn't really wait for the much-older man to answer.

Ben merely shrugged it off and turned his attention to his young-spirited (if not childish) captain and the even more childish game he was playing with the younger D. brother. Ace followed Ben's gaze and couldn't help chuckling at the sight.

Shanks was acting like a father to Luffy.

"Wheee, AAAAAAACE!!" Luffy cried in delight, waving his short arms as Shanks passed their table and then headed for the door. Ace waved back, smiling.

He was close to having a narcoleptic fit again when he heard a sound of loud 'thwack!' echo through the bar. Horrified, all the customers inside turned their heads to its source, only to see Luffy—who's head had hit the upper doorframe unceremoniously—collapse onto the floor.

As if on command, both Ben and Ace cried in unison, "Shanks!!"

So much for a father…

xxx

"Ac—e." Luffy was sitting cross-legged on the bed, waiting impatiently for Ace to join him. Ace slipped into his pajamas and crawled next to Luffy, yawning widely. "Do I have a father?"

It was an innocent question, innocent enough to make Ace's eyes snap back open. He turned his head to face his younger brother. What kind of question was that?

"Ac—e!" Luffy frowned when Ace didn't answer right away and poked said boy's head. Unnerved by the repeated pokes, Ace could only stare at the mark on Luffy's forehead, hoping it wouldn't swell later.

"No." was Ace's reply as he buried his head deep into the fluffy pillow.

Not a father—a man who hadn't come when his son was born. Not a father— a man who hadn't attend their mother's funeral. Not a father—a man who hadn't shown himself to his younger son. Dragon was nothing close to a father.

"But Ace, every kid is supposed to have a dad." Luffy reasoned, trying to pull Ace's face from the pillow. He couldn't understand why Ace was angry all of sudden.

Deciding he couldn't sleep with Luffy pestering him, Ace sighed and rolled onto his stomach so he was face-to-face with his little brother. "I thought you said that you came from an egg."

"I did—" Ace smiled as Luffy's frown turned into a glare and he attempted to punch him rather roughly. Ace held up a pillow to block the allegedly-pistol-like punch. "That wasn't what I meant!" Luffy shouted.

"Good night, Luffy.". That was it. End of conversation.

Luffy's pout grew bigger, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Ace was too stubborn sometimes!

He waited fro a minute or two, but after Ace didn't show any sign that he was awake, he sighed and leaned heavily against his older brother.

"Ne, Nii-chan." Luffy said sleepily, his tiny fingers absently drawing circles on the sheets, "Would it be nice if Shanks were our dad?"

Ace silently cracked an eye open to see the small boy drawing circles beside him. He mentally kicked himself for not having been able to realize that Luffy needed a father figure, not a dying big brother who would leave him anytime soon.

"Ace?"

He could feel Luffy's disappointed look bore into his arm before finally the younger D. sighed again and drifted asleep.


End file.
